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I pull her into my arms and press a soft kiss to her forehead, my heart pounding wildly. I’ve never felt this happy before. I have no doubt that in fifty years, I’ll still remember this moment with her.
Valentina relaxes in my embrace, and I gently stroke her back as her breathing evens out. I’ve fallen asleep with her in my arms countless times now, but it’s never felt like this before. I’ve never felt quite sowhole, so complete.
My wife presses a kiss to my neck, her leg draped over me and her head on my chest. “That acquisition,” I murmur eventually. “If you want to go ahead with it, you can. I don’t give a shit about Jessica. There’s nothing for you to worry about. I just wanted you to be aware of it, since I’m far from pleased to findBensuddenly hovering around you. I hate the way he looks at you at the office, and the way he tries to find excuses to spend time with you. Your history with him makes me uncomfortable and restless, and I don’t want you to experience any of those feelings.”
I feel her gaze on me and gently caress her back, my touch soothing. I don’t want anything standing between us anymore. I’ve got her so close, yet it isn’t enough.
“I do want to acquire Metric, because it’s the right move for us. When we got married, I promised you that I’d help you realize your father’s vision, and this is essentially the final component of it.” She hesitates. “But I want to know what happened. I don’t want to face her and be caught unaware. If there’s anything I need to know, I’d rather hear it from you.”
I turn onto my side so I can face her properly. I’m reluctant to rehash a part of my past, but if I don’t, she’ll overthink things the way I did with her and Ben. “She and I are from the same social circle, so growing up, we’d run into each other often. I wouldn’t necessarily call her a friend, but she was definitely an acquaintance of some sort.”
Valentina stares at me so intently that I can’t help but smile reassuringly. What does she expect me to say for her expression to be filled with such apprehension? It’s clear that she’s expecting the worst, somehow. “So when we went to college and ended up in the same classes, we became friends. Everything with her was easy and natural, and it wasn’t until much later that I realized why. I kept running into her, and no matter what I needed, she was always there. Falling in love with her was effortless and natural, and knowing that our families would approve of us being together made it all the more easy. We dated throughout college, and I was close to bringing her home to my grandmother. I was going to ask for approval to marry her.”
Valentina flinches and looks away, her gaze filling with sorrow. I cup her face gently and make her face me.
“A few days before I was supposed to tell my grandmother, I found out that she’d been cheating on me with multiple men throughout the years we were together. I still don’t know who it was, but I received an anonymous parcel with photos of her and other men. I confronted her about it, and she laughed in my face. She told me that I was idealistic and immature for thinking that we’d be faithful to each other for the rest of our lives. Weargued, and she admitted that she only approached me because her family told her to. She chose her college and majors because of me, and everything that I thought was fate, was carefully orchestrated by her. She didn’t want me, she wanted to be a Windsor. I ended things and never looked back. It’s why I didn’t think I’d be opposed to an arranged marriage, you know? I thought a contractual relationship would suit me best. That way, I’d never have to wonder if any of it was real.”
She raises her hand and brushes the tips of her fingers over my temple, her gaze tormented. “How could she do that to you?” she asks, her voice breaking.
I grab her hand and entwine our fingers before lifting it to my lips. “If she hadn’t, we might not have ended up this way, baby. Ultimately, everything in life led me to you. You told me not to worry about Ben, and I’ve tried my best not to despite the way he keeps hovering around you… so grant me the same courtesy. If you choose to proceed with this acquisition, promise me you won’t worry about things that don’t matter. Promise me that you’ll remember that you’re the only one I love, the only one I’ll ever want.”
She nods. “I promise,” she whispers, her eyes on mine. She looks at me with a hint of disbelief, her smile so sweet that I wish I could engrave this image of her into my memories. “I love you, Luca. I’m not any less scared, but you’re worth the risk. If you end up breaking what’s left of my heart, I still won’t regret it.”
“I won’t ever hurt you,” I promise her. After everything we’ve been through, there’s no way I’ll let anything come between us ever again — not even her insecurities. For the rest of our lives, I’ll prove to her that her faith in me isn’t misplaced.
Chapter Fifty
Valentina
I reject Ben’s call for the 10thtime tonight, annoyed he got his hands on my phone number in the first place. He’s been trying to find excuses to speak to me outside of the meetings we unfortunately both must attend, and I’ve been doing my best to avoid him. Is this what it was like years ago? How could I have fallen for his incessant pestering?
I only need to tolerate him for a little longer. There are only a few days left before the board makes a decision, and once they do, we won’t have to work together so closely anymore. Even if he stays at Windsor Finance, I won’t necessarily have to see him.
Luca closes his laptop and places it on the coffee table, his jaws clenched. “How long has this been going on?” he asks me as he leans back against the sofa, his voice soft. He takes my laptop from me and closes that too, his movements so carefully controlled that it gives away just how angry he is.
“I… you mean…”
“How long has that fucker been calling you? Your two months are nearly up. Have you been speaking to him all along?”
“Only about work,” I reassure him.
Luca’s eyes flash, and he pulls me onto his lap, my back against his chest. “Why?” he asks, his lips brushing over my neck. “Are you my only employee? Is there no one else he can turn to? You know it’s just an excuse.”
His teeth graze over my neck, and he bites down on my skin for a moment, before sucking harshly, marking me. “Luca,” I moan, my heart racing. There’s something irresistible about him whenever he acts this possessive. Everything I used to hate about him, I’ve come to love.
His hands roam over my body, and he pushes the straps of my pajama top off my shoulders, exposing my breasts.
“You know I only want you,” I murmur, before tilting my head back. His lips find mine, and he kisses me slowly as one hand slips into my pajama bottoms. A soft growl escapes his lips as his middle finger brushes over my clit.
My phone starts to ring again, and he pulls his lips off mine. “Pick up. If I find out this call is about anything other than work, there’ll be hell to pay.”
Luca’s finger moves down from my clit and slips into me just as I pick up the phone, and I bite down on my lip for a moment.
“Val?” Ben says, sounding a little drunk. “Where are you?”
Luca pushes another finger into me, and I gasp. “At home, of course. It’s nearly ten in the evening. Where else would I be?”
“I need to see you,” Ben says, but I can’t focus on anything when Luca is slowly slipping two fingers in and out of me, his cock hardening underneath me rapidly.
